Welcome to the new blog!

By:
heather_lemoine

The new NDtourism.com also has a new blog! And I tell ya, there's been a lot of pressure (self-inflicted) to write the perfect first post for our new format. My notebook is filled with a lot of topic ideas:

Cool family experiences in North Dakota

Enjoying North Dakota culture through food

The new Motorcycle ByRider program

The rise of extreme adventure sports

Summer = agritourism opportunities

"Oil" is making North Dakota newsworthy - how do you incorporate it into your vacation?

Fishing hot spots

And the ideas go on ... and on ... and on. So I'd love to hear from travelers, what are some of the questions that you have or topics that you'd love to read more about? You can post them on our Facebook page, tweet them to @LegendaryND or even email [email protected].

July 19-20, 1881

Personally, I'm a history buff and because of the date I'm going to share a story - and a place - in North Dakota's history: The surrender of Sitting Bull at Fort Buford, Dakota Territory (now, near Williston, North Dakota).

Sitting Bull was the famous Hunkpapa Teton Sioux leader who defeated General George Custer and his 264 men at the Battle of Little Bighorn in 1876. Pursued by the U.S. Army after the Sioux uprising and victory, Sitting Bull escaped to Canada with his followers. In 1881, with his people starving, he returned to the U.S. on July 19 and surrendered on July 20, 1881.

Fort Buford was built in 1866 near the confluence of the Missouri and Yellowstone rivers, and became a major supply depot for military field operations. It was one of a number of military posts established to protect overland and river routes used by immigrants settling the West. Visitors to Fort Buford State Historic Site can now tour a stone powder magazine, the post cemetery site and a large officers' quarters which is where the surrender took place and now houses a museum. Nearby Missouri-Yellowstone Confluence Interpretive Center further tells the story of Sitting Bull, the confluence of the mighty rivers and the Lewis and Clark Expedition which traversed them in 1805 and 1806.

This weekend at Fort Buford, there will be three History Alive! performances on the 20th. Listen to Captain Vic Smith tell stories of the Buffalo Hunter. And on Sunday the 21st, Earlwin Bullhead will be singing, drumming and telling stories related to his native culture.

For more immersion into the stories of Sitting Bull, the Standing Rock Nation has a new Sitting Bull Visitor Center located at the Sitting Bull College campus in Fort Yates. Local points of interest include the Sitting Bull Burial Site and Standing Rock Monument.